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This little guy was one of 173 dogs and monkeys rescued from a bankrupt New Jersey testing laboratory in 2010. Shri Thanedar says he did everything possible to protect the animals and blames the lab’s creditors for the animals’ plight.

The face of Shri Thanedar ‒ scientist, entrepreneur and one of four Democratic candidates for Michigan governor ‒ is becoming familiar to voters thanks to more than $1.2 million in TV ads bankrolled by part of the $6 million he has donated to his campaign. It’s been enough to put him in a slight lead over former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer in a recent poll by the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Thanedar has labeled the accusations a media smear and blames the creditor in the bankruptcy for whatever unpleasantness lab animals’ went through at the time.

The reports amount to a character test: What responsibility does Thanedar bear for what happened to hapless test animals at the lab? And is there support for his statement that he’s the victim of a smear campaign?

Truth Squad finds Thanedar’s efforts to deflect responsibility for the animals to be unsupported, and award a rating of False.

The claim:

Thanedar says he tried to step in to protect the animals during bankruptcy and called media accounts “all a misreporting just to smear me.” Referring to a creditor in federal bankruptcy proceedings, he stated in a TV interview where he believes the blame rests: “This is Bank of America. Not my fault.”

The facts:

Thanedar’s rags-to-riches profile, which began in poverty in India, includes the making of a fortune, its sudden loss, and a second rise to wealth. After completing post-doctoral work at the University of Michigan in the early 1980s, he built a prosperous chemical firm in Missouri, then borrowed $24 million to acquire several other firms.

But the Great Recession took its toll. In 2010, creditor Bank of America, seeking to recoup $23 million in debt, seized a group of businesses that included AniClin Preclinical Services in New Jersey. Thanedar got back on his feet with the Ann Arbor chemical firm Avomeen in 2010. (Last year, he was hit with a lawsuit alleging he made “fraudulent and misleading” claims to inflate the value of Avomeen, which he sold for about $20 million.)

By the spring of 2010, AniClin in New Jersey was shuttered, as lawyers for Bank of America and Thanedar jousted in Missouri bankruptcy court over how to dispense with its assets. That included 118 beagles and 55 monkeys housed as medical research test animals.

Thanedar said the animals were used to test medications for heart disease and other ailments as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It’s not entirely clear how many people were designated to care for the animals after the lab closed and a receiver took control of the facilities.

In June 2010, lawyers for Thanedar sought to block a motion by the receiver to have the lab’s dogs and monkeys placed in “animal sanctuaries for no compensation.” His lawyers argued “the value of the animals could have a range of between $189,000 and $445,000. The Motion does not indicate whether Receiver has taken any action to sell the animals (i.e. to another testing facility) for the benefit of the creditors.”

Three weeks later, the bankruptcy judge ordered the animals placed in sanctuaries. The order noted that the objection to the motion by Thanedar’s attorneys had been withdrawn.

Betsy Tegze, executive director of Pets Alive, told Truth Squad: “They were not in horrible condition. I’ve seen animals in way worse condition. We have been told that staff at the time was jumping over fences and feeding them.”

She added that the dogs were nervous and withdrawn at their release, as if afraid to walk on grass, behavior that is typical of test animals.

“They had never been outside. They didn’t know what fresh air was, what sunshine is.”

“We had monkeys and beagles, dogs, that were starving. We actually ‒ before we were authorized as receiver, I would personally put up money in our own pocket to feed the animals so that they didn't starve…Employees hadn't been paid for some period of time. Benefits hadn't been paid. It was a bloody mess at AniClin.”

In another newly discovered court record supporting release of the animals, Bank of America told the court it had repeatedly offered AniClin the opportunity to continue to care for the animals and oversee their subsequent placement during bankruptcy, all at the bank’s expense.

The bank said AniClin “ignored” Bank of America’s offers, leaving the bank no choice but to put the animals’ care in the hands of the receiver.

Contacted by Truth Squad, Thanedar said through his campaign: “To my knowledge, no such offer was ever received. My company, not the bank, paid the salaries of the animal care workers and paid for food and supplies for the facilities after receivership."

On the Dooley testimony that the animals were “starving,” Thanedar stated: "To my knowledge, Mr. Dooley did not visit the AniClin facility prior to the receivership taking over, so I do not understand how he can make such a statement."

He added that “all of the animals were saved, cared for and taken to animal shelters thanks to the tireless efforts of animal care organizations, activists and others involved. As a business owner and candidate for governor, I know that the ultimate responsibility for any organization ‒ whether it's running a business or leading a state government ‒ begins and ends with me, and I take that responsibility seriously…”

Who

Shri Thanedar

What

Responsibility for abandoned lab animals

The Call

False

Thanedar can credibly state he was not involved in day-to-day operations at AniClin, especially after it was closed during bankruptcy proceedings. But his statement that the allegations have been misreported and that Bank of America is to blame do not square with the record. Indeed, according to Bank of America court filings, AniClin did not respond to its offer for the lab to continue to care for the animals and try to place them with other labs, at the bank’s expense, during bankruptcy.

Thanedar insists the animals were not mistreated, a stance that appears to be supported by an animal rescue group but challenged by Dooley, the receiver CEO.

Court records also show Thanedar’s attorneys initially tried to block efforts to release the animals to sanctuaries so his business could try and sell the beagles and monkeys to other labs, reducing its bank debt.

That is certainly within their right; indeed, it can be argued Thanedar’s lawyers would not be doing their jobs if they weren’t trying everything possible to reduce what the failed lab owed the bank. But the fact remains that the court challenge likely had the effect of delaying the animals’ release from less-than-optimal living conditions.

The questions Thanedar faces regarding his treatment of the lab animals are not the product of “misreporting to smear” his candidacy for governor. The bankruptcy filings offer a clear, contemporaneous account of that chaotic period. Nor does it appear from the record that Bank of America did anything to place the animals in jeopardy.

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Comments

Jeff

Thu, 05/24/2018 - 8:35am

Thank you for truth-telling. Will you please move along to Gretchen Whitmer and report on her unwillingness to support single-payer health care, her father's history as CEO of BCBS, and her solicitation of donations for BCBS which is a huge conflict of interest directly affecting the health care of millions of Michiganders?

Thank you for looking into this issue. Shri may have made a lot of money in business over the years, but it's obvious from this story and others that some of his business practices are questionable. The last thing Michigan needs is another shady businessman running the show.

I would not vote for Shri Thanadar as dog catcher, let alone for Governor.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has my vote, as he is the most progressive candidate who truly cares for the people, and the animals not only in Michigan, but globally. He is a politician with a heart.

Bridge, keep up the good work of getting the facts out. MLive isn't doing it. The majority of Michigan newspapers and television news organizations aren't, whether because they lack the resources or, in the case of the Sinclair-owned TV stations, choose not to. You appear to be one of the few that is.

Shri is a con man who has done little for michigan citizens ! To support this uninformed and trashy candidate is a mistake we cannot afford ! Abdul is my candidate and could support Whitmer ! Never Shri

To start with, the testing of animals, for whatever purpose, has been found to have little value and should be abandoned. In this situation, the welfare of the beagles and monkeys should have been the highest priority for any business owner. That did not appear to be the case here.
Credit to the workers and other animal welfare groups who took the initiative to care for these helpless animals and prevent an inhumane disaster!

Actually it doesn’t. It completely fits the left wing, uninformed liberals, who only give a carp about lining their pockets! Trump is not amazing, I get that. He has a big mouth and is immature. But he also is a brilliant businessman. If given the chance he could help this country and protect it. Immigration reform, equals no more 911 attacks on our country. It all sucks, the evil in this world. But every thing just isn’t Trumps fault. It’s impossible for years, decades, of crap and evil is his fault!!

Lisa you need to do some homework. Trump is a horrible businessman, he's been through eight bankruptcies for his failed business practices. When he was longer able to get a loan in the USA he had to go overseas to secure financing.

6 bankruptcies, 25 million dollar settlement for fraudulent trump U, cheating subcontractors resulting in some losing their businesses, products made mostly in China, every trip to one of his properties is money going directly from taxpayer to his pocket, can't get loans from American banks due to bankruptcies and the list goes on.
Not my kind of businessman.

Another one who drank the Kool-Aid! Watch the video about how he treated the farmers in Scotland when they refused to sell their properties to him for his golf course. That is the REAL Donald Trump! He doesn't give a rip about anyone but himself and his family - he isn't for the middle class or poor of this country! And he never will be - he doesn't have the ability to feel empathy for anyone or anything but himself>
WORST PERSON EVER!

If Michigan is not diligent and careful who they elect it could become the first Muslim State in the US, a Sharia law state. Be careful who you vote for because your children will pay for your mistakes. You people, Michiganders already have a community in the corner of your state that looks like a foreign country...

You need to wake up! Look at Hamtramck and Livonia. Street signs in Arabic. Refuse to speak in English. Muslim city councils. Detroit federal judge fired for trying to impose Sharia law. Keep wearing the blinders people. Eventually you get what you ask for. Loose our democratic society, it's almost impossible to get it back. Don't be stupid folks. Wake up for God's sake.

All I see is a state that I have lived in all my life truly DIVIDED! East against West! I agree with some comments. However, the United States of America became the "Melting Pot" where all walks of life could come together. Now as the generations have changed, so has the U.S. This "Melting Pot" has come to force us to accept other countries ideals. That is WRONG! We are a country of faith, freedom and liberties others from abroad are trying to shut down. I don't care what you do in YOUR HOME, but don't try to make me accept your lunatic ideals. Either abide by the laws of the United States or LEAVE! I would like to know how the foreigners are richer than middle class after coming here to Michigan. Even a U.S. born white or black person that is highly intelligent with a career as a scientist, doctor, lawyer, or any other 6 figure income career, rarely becomes so rich with millions to billions of dollars within 30 years! I'm sick of listening to them and their rights while they disrupt ours and leaving our own citizens behind. There are so many familes here struggling to make ends meet even on a 75k income. Insurance is outrageous, medical is not a priviledge, people cheat the system, the crooks are the ones with money no matter where they come from. My parents are staunch Dems and still noy hace a clue why the poor still struggle. Get a grip Michigan, do your homework, and keep the rif-raf out. Why do you think they came here in the first place? To take away YOUR LIBERTIES, YOUR FREEDOM, YOUR COUNTRY! Then we all can live like the rest of the world. Sad, Sad, Sad!

Being caught in a lie here, and having lost all of us Beagle Lovers, and most animal lovers, I would say he stands zero chance of becoming Governor, when you include Republicans and Independents voting.